


the great sandbox war of 2005

by orphan_account



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Multi, Rule 63, Slow Burn, Yancy Becket Lives, and theres like a LOT of lesbianism, basically all the main characters are girls because pr needed more ladies, oh all the Teens are basically the same age
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 03:18:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8732734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Since she was five years old, the most steady constant in Chuck's life has been her hatred for Raleigh Becket.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'm a sucker for three things: high school AUs, lesbians, and yancy becket being a really great older sibling. since i couldn't find a fic that combined all three of these things, i took it into my own hands! and this is the silly, fluffy result: dumb teens fumbling out their dumb feelings, and also mako mori, who thinks they're both idiots and is mostly waiting for them to get their shit together (or so she thinks! in the words of someone very alive and healthy, "don't get cocky!")
> 
> also, i changed names as minimally as possible because it always bothers me when people genderswap and change the names to be really feminine for no reason idk. i also am figuring ao3 out as i go and i have no fucking idea how to keep the formatting when i paste it in so i don't think it's indented which is bothering me as much as it might bother you, sorry

           Since she was five years old, the most steady constant in Chuck's life has been her hatred for Raleigh Becket.

           Their ancient, epic rivalry started one fateful day in kindergarten, the day after Raleigh’s older sister Yancy was deemed responsible enough to walk to elementary school by herself instead of walking with Raleigh and their mother. Raleigh had been in a sour mood over this all day, a fact that wasn’t helped by the fact that Chuck (who had recently transferred to Raleigh’s school) was consistently badgering her about playing together. Raleigh’s bad mood had culminated at recess in an unfortunate incident that involved plastic shovels, a handful of woodchips, and their teacher having to sprint four blocks to track her down.  

          As far as Chuck is concerned, ever since then they’ve been entrenched in a vicious struggle wherein both of them regularly try to sabotage the other, be it by drawing dicks on the other’s presentations (Chuck still finds this hilarious) or destroying their tough reputations by giving each other pathetic praise in peer performance reviews (Chuck will never forgive Raleigh for that—the other students probably thought she was some sort of nerd).            

          Honestly, Chuck thinks that the rivalry makes school slightly more bearable. If it wasn’t for her constant vigilance, always on the lookout for incoming attacks or weaknesses to exploit, she’d probably sleep through most of her classes. But regardless of what her friends (fuck you, Tendo) might say, her grudging enjoyment of their rivalry does _not_  mean that she hates Raleigh any less. She just really, really likes hating her.             

  * ••



 

           Raleigh really wishes Chuck Hansen would chill out for like five seconds.

           She doesn’t even know what the fuck she did— _if_ she did anything, that is, she wouldn’t put it past Chuck Hansen to have eeny-meeny-miney-moe’d their class and figured Raleigh would do as an enemy—but for as long as she can remember, Chuck has been single-mindedly devoted to inconveniencing her. Raleigh’s tried everything short of actually confronting her (because she quite likes being bruise-free, thanks very much) but even when she tried being nice it just seemed to piss Chuck off more.

           She thumps the most recent attack (a pile of her math worksheets which have been painstakingly coated with anatomically inaccurate dicks) onto the library table and presses her forehead to the surface exasperatedly.

           “Whyyyyy does she hate me so much?” she groans tiredly.

           “She doesn’t,” Tendo says cryptically as she examines her nails. Raleigh ignores her; it’s what she always says, because despite her reputation as a gossip, Tendo Choi probably has a degree in being obnoxiously evasive when it suits her.

           “I mean, you’re friends with her, for some ungodly reason. You’ve gotta have some idea, right?” Raleigh pleads, summoning her best puppy dog eyes. Tendo, after years of prolonged exposure to Raleigh and her obnoxiously emotional blue gaze, is immune to the puppy eyes. The black-haired girl leans back in her chair and shrugs her shoulders vaguely.

           “Have you tried… talking to her, like an adult?”

           Raleigh scoffs.

           “As if. I’m actually quite fond of my teeth.”

           Tendo laughs. “Please, you wuss, I’ve witnessed Becket sibling roughhousing firsthand and barely lived to tell the tale. You can take whatever Chuck can dish out.”

           “That doesn’t mean I _want_ to—” Raleigh starts, only to trail off as Tendo pitches forward, a pair of skinny arms thrown over her shoulders.

           “What the hell, Newt, I thought you were permabanned from the library?” Tendo asks as Newt releases her and hops up to sit on the table.

           “Nope! And I believe the exact wording was ‘for the rest of your earthly days, you disrespectful, hyperactive cretin.’” the wild-haired girl chirps brightly, her combat boot-clad feet thumping Tendo’s chair rhythmically. “Turns out that asshole assistant librarians don’t have that kind of authority, so Hermine’s not gotten rid of me yet!”

           Raleigh smiles wryly. “Really, Newt, what’d she ever do to you to warrant having to deal with the full force of your personality day in and day out?” Newt raises her arms, a sure sign that she’s about to start ranting, and Raleigh realizes too late that her question has triggered The Vengeance Speech.

           “Look, all I’m saying is, why take AP Bio if you’re gonna scoff at the methods every damn—” she begins. Raleigh and Tendo make amused eye contact; they’ve heard this speech many, many times before.

           Raleigh pushes away from the table and grabs her bag.

           “Sorry, Newt, I’d love to stick around, but I have a… uh… a project?” Without giving Newt the opportunity to protest, she scrambles out the library doors.   

  * ••



 

           Mako jogs off the field, dropping her stick haphazardly onto the grass as she fumbles through her bag to find her ringing phone. She pulls it out, notices the caller ID name, and hits speakerphone.

           “Hey!” she says cheerfully.

           “Hey, Mako. How’s it going?” Raleigh answers. Mako can hear the grin in her voice.

           “Not bad, just practicing with the girls. Wanna come down to the field?”

           “Sure. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Raleigh says, and hangs up. Soon Mako can see her heading down the path to the field and ambles over to meet her. Raleigh has something in her hands, and  “What is it this time?” she asks as soon as Raleigh is close enough to hear her.

           “Dicks, _again._ No points for originality.” Raleigh sighs, brandishing the papers at Mako, who fails to conceal her amusement.

           “Do you think she’ll ever get tired of that one?” Mako giggles. Raleigh is not as amused.

           “I don’t know how she even gets her hands on them!” Mako just shrugs mysteriously. “Come on, I know you know _something._ Your moms are so buddy-buddy nowadays, you two might as well be attached at the hip by association.”

           “Okay, while it may be the case that Chuck and I are very well-acquainted with each other’s living rooms, she knows I’m friends with you too. She’s not letting anything slip.”

           “Woah, woah, woah,” Raleigh holds up her hand. “Hold on. ‘Too?’ As in, you’re _friends_ with Chuck Hansen, not just being held hostage in her house every other day?”

           “She’s not _that_ bad! She’s just kind of… aggressive.” Mako protests weakly. Raleigh flops back onto the grass.

           “Kind of aggressive? Mako, she broke Jin’s nose during dodgeball last quarter.”

           “That was an accident and you can’t prove otherwise.” says a voice. Raleigh opens her eyes in resigned horror. Chuck Hansen is staring down at her with an expression that clearly reads ‘it was absolutely not an accident.’

           “Chuck.” Raleigh says in greeting. Chuck rolls her eyes and walks over to sit next to Mako and determinedly pretends that Raleigh doesn’t exist. _Business as usual,_ Raleigh thinks, and closes her eyes again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's favorite older sister makes an appearance, low-budget shark movies are mentioned, and Mako is exasperated.

           “More dicks?” asks Yancy, picking up a crumpled paper from Raleigh’s floor. Raleigh’s groan is muffled by her mattress, which she’s been sprawled face-down on since she arrived home. The bed dips as Yancy sits down to examine the paper. Raleigh cracks one eye open; Yancy is holding back laughter as she takes in the artistic additions to Raleigh’s homework. Raleigh lets out a loud, betrayed gasp and rolls onto her back so she can kick Yancy lightly.  
           “Are you laughing at my plight? I am a victim of vandalism! Can I get no sympathy from my own sister?”   
           “Sympathy?” Yancy scoffs. “Poor you, a pretty girl is obsessed with you. I feel _so_ bad.”  
           “Fuck off, she’s not obsessed with me! She hates me! There’s a difference!” Raleigh whines, kicking Yancy harder.  
           “So you admit she’s pretty.” Yancy says, smirking as she dodges Raleigh’s third kick. Raleigh smashes her pillow over her face and makes a long, tortured noise. Yancy chuckles. “This is classic. She’s been pulling your pigtails since you two were in preschool.”  
           “I never had pigtails,” Raleigh says, running a hand through her pixie cut defensively.  
           “Haven’t you ever heard that saying, Rals? When a little boy pulls a girl’s pigtails, it means he likes her. Same basic principle applies here.” Yancy peers at Raleigh very seriously, but Raleigh can tell she’s fighting back laughter, which is a very inconsiderate thing to do when your little sister is telling you about her harrowing, dick-based trials and tribulations.  
           “Wh—Chuck doesn’t _like_ me, you bonehead, she hates me! She’s always hated me!” Raleigh splutters as she sits up indignantly.  
           “That’s what you think.” Yancy says, nodding sagely.  
           “You’re crazy.” Raleigh says.  
           “I’m not crazy…” Yancy starts dramatically as she springs up to strike a macho pose—chest puffed out, hands on her hips.  
           “Don’t. Do not finish that sentence. Do not quote Avalanche Sharks while I’m pouring my heart out.” Raleigh warns.   
           “...I’m a Marine!” Yancy finishes, dropping her voice several octaves. Raleigh throws herself backwards with her hands over her face and tries to conceal her giggles. “I see that! You ain’t slick, little Casanova!” Yancy points a finger at Raleigh accusingly. “Now, enough talk of wenches. There is quality media that requires our consumption.” Raleigh rolls her eyes at Yancy’s terrible British accent. “No, seriously, Rals, the dog show is on.” Raleigh is sprinting out of the room before Yancy finishes speaking. “Hey, wait up, you little hooligan!” Yancy laughs and runs after her.  
           “Keep up, you hag!” Raleigh calls back, and the chase is on.

 

  * ••



 

           “Just out of curiosity,” Mako starts carefully, “how do you keep intercepting Raleigh’s papers?”  
           Chuck snorts, not missing a beat with the rubber ball that she’s bouncing against the wall across from her bed.  
           “Nice try, Mori. I’ll never reveal my tactical secrets.” For a moment, the room is silent save for the thumping of the ball and the sound of Mako’s pencil scratching away. Then Mako speaks up again.  
           “Does it have to do with the fact that you eat your A day lunches in Mr. Gage’s room?” Chuck nearly fumbles the ball, snatching it just before it hits the floor.  
           “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” she says unconvincingly. Mako ‘hmm’s quietly in response and the ball stops its rhythmic thumping as Chuck turns to face her, eyes bright. “If you tell that pathetic—”  
           “I won’t.” Mako says exactly as convincingly without looking up from her work. Chuck scowls and drops the ball in favor of glaring at her ripped-up cuticles. The room is silent again. Chuck shifts her position agitatedly, picking at a thread on her jeans.  
           “Look,” she says, too loud for the small room. “That asshole started all this. She decided to hate me first.” The pencil scratching pauses briefly.   
           “No.” Mako says slowly, looking at Chuck out of the corner of her eye.  
           “Yes!” insists Chuck, her eyes flashing. “Since kindergarten, even.”  
           “Nope.” Mako says, popping the P.  
           “She does hate me! She gets irritable whenever we’re in the same room! She rolls her eyes when I talk to our mutual friends! She complains about me constantly!” Chuck gestures wildly, almost yelling.  
           “Fascinating,” Mako says dryly without looking at her. “Why do you think that is? It couldn’t possibly be because you’ve made it your mission to antagonize her for eleven years, because you would never do that.” Chuck splutters, her face hot with anger. Mako keeps writing diligently. After a long pause, Chuck slumps against the foot of her bed.  
           “What’s that you’re writing, anyway?” she says, trying to seem less curious than she is.  
           “Engineering homework.”  
           “Oh,” Chuck says. “I don’t think Mr. Koeffner likes me.”  
           “That’s probably because you undermine his authority.”  
           “I do not!” Chuck protests.  
           “You’ve corrected him in front of the entire class on multiple occasions.” Mako reminds her.  
           “So have you! And what else should I do, let him teach us the wrong information?”  
           “It’s about tact, Chuck, which is not your strong suit. I correct him without implying anything about his intelligence, age, or qualifications. With the way you embarrass him, I’m surprised he hasn’t had you removed from the class.” Mako says, the ‘duh’ going unspoken. Chuck bristles predictably.  
           “I have plenty of tact, fuck you! And he deserves every bit of humiliation, that senile old wanker! Do you remember when he called Sasha a ‘little tart’ for wearing a skirt and lipstick? And he can’t have me removed, I have an A.” she spits, fuming.  
           “While that may be an accurate judging of his character, I am not willing to engage in a public fight with a teacher. It isn’t worth it in the end. He’s too old and mentally feeble for criticism to do anything but piss him off, and a teacher who dislikes you will not do you any good in the long run.” Mako looks up, finally; Chuck is beaming at her, her dimpled grin spread ear-to-ear.  
           “You called him old and mentally feeble!” she says, delighted. Mako turns back to her work and smiles softly. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm probably going to stick with including multiple povs per chapter because im looking back at my drafts and realizing that each pov switch is.... not long enough to be its own chapter really.
> 
> anyway as always feedback is appreciated!!

**Author's Note:**

> if you didn't catch it (it's easy to miss imo) my version of The Yancy Incident™ is literally just that yancy is old enough to walk to school by herself instead of with raleigh and their mom and raleigh is really emo about it for like a week because she likes walking with her older sister. i've seen other AU yancy lives fics where the incident is like, a fire or a car crash or something, but i didn't want to hurt these children because i'm a weenie idk
> 
> this chapter is also longer than most of the others will probably be because i wanted to establish all three POVs to start out! but most chapters from here on out will probably only contain one. i have a bunch of chapters written already (by hand in my notebook, embarassingly enough) so expect frequent updates.
> 
> as always, feedback is really really appreciated! i am my own beta bc i have no friends in this fandom (i arrived about three years too late) so if you feel like pointing out anything (that isn't my overuse of commas and parentheses because trust me... i know) please do!!! thank u for reading


End file.
